Shop Talk: Party Committees Firm Up Leadership

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is the only congressional political arm that has yet to name an executive director for the 2014 cycle, but a decision will likely come soon.

“My guess is middle of next week, we’ll have somebody. We’ve shortened the list. And then final interviews and hopefully announce somebody by next week,” said a source close to incoming NRSC Chairman Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas.

“There’s a very short list,” another source echoed. “A decision will be coming soon, and it’s a decision seen within the community as a positive one and a strong one.”

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said last week Executive Director Guy Cecil will remain in his job for another cycle, reuniting with a former boss, newly installed DSCC Chairman Michael Bennet of Colorado.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee named Kelly Ward as its executive director in mid-November, and the National Republican Congressional Committee announced last month that Liesl Hickey will be its executive director.

Meanwhile, NRCC Polling and Deputy Political Director Brock McCleary is headed back to his native Pennsylvania. He begins work in January for the Harrisburg public affairs firm Long Nyquist & Associates. McCleary will help with the firm’s clients in the Pennsylvania delegation and also focus on building a national portfolio of political and public affairs clients.

NRSC Executive Director Rob Jesmer has been named a partner at FP1 Strategies, a D.C. public affairs firm. Jesmer has been the top staffer at the NRSC the past two cycles. The firm’s other partners are Danny Diaz, Jon Downs and Terry Nelson.

Dvorsky has been the chairwoman since 2010 and cited homesickness for her husband, who lives in Coralville, Iowa, as a leading reason for not signing up for another tour. “This is not a fire sale,” she told the Des Moines Register. “This is a very conscious choice. The party is in great shape, and we’re coming off a really great cycle. It’s the right time. I’ve been away from home for two and a half years.”

The Register reports that state Rep. Tyler Olson of Cedar Rapids is a leading contender to succeed her, but Sen. Tom Harkin will have major input in the decision. The state party’s central committee will choose the new chairman in January.

Delaney Operative Sets Up Shop

Maryland Democratic Rep.-elect John Delaney’s campaign political director, Andrew Feldman, announced Monday that he’s starting his own firm.

Feldman Strategies LLC “will serve political and advocacy campaigns, specializing in communication strategy,” according to a press release. This is not to be confused with the Feldman Group, a top Democratic polling outfit.

While Delaney easily defeated Republican Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett in November, his primary win was something of a stunner.

Previously, Feldman worked on a number of campaigns and had done advance for the Office of the Vice President.

Independence Avenue Address

The revolving door between the campaign trail and Capitol Hill continues to swing more than a month after the elections.